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Return to Ostagar DLC

Return to Ostagar Walkthrough

Dragon Age Origins Blog rto walkthrough Walkthrough

Difficulty Setting: Normal

You can download this Walkthrough as a PDF file and print it for future reference.

The King’s Confidant

Introduction:

Your memories of the battle of Ostagar will haunt you for years to come. It laid waste to your order and claimed the lives of many great men and women. Now, there are rumors that a fellow survivor of the battle has escaped from captivity and is seeking the Grey Wardens’ help. The time has come for the Grey Wardens to make their return to Ostagar and exact their revenge upon the darkspawn.

While traveling through the woods on Bann Loren’s land, you witnessed a group of soldiers assaulting an unarmed man which you seem to recognize. He is from Ostagar and wears the King’s suit. He must have fought side by side with the King and somehow survived the battle and now escaped the Darkspawn. The soldiers confronting him in the woods clearly wear the uniform of Bann Loren, a minor Lord well-known and little-loved for the fluidity of his allegiances.

You can choose whether to interfere or just watch and wait. No matter which way you choose, the old man gets stabbed and falls bleeding, unconscious on the forest floor.

When you choose to fight, the battle begins. You must fight your way to the–probably only–witness left from the big battle at Ostagar. You have your hopes high that you might get some information about what happened to Duncan & the King. But first you need to kill the Private Soldiers.

Since the area surrounding you does not give much flexibility and your enemies are armed with ranged weapons, it may be best to just have your party rush to the soldiers and take them down one by one. If you have a Mage with you, casting Mind Blast does a great job here. Additionally, position your Mage in order to cast Cone of Cold to freeze as many as possible. With those two spells you should be able to take down the enemies in less than 2 minutes. Illiani reports that a quick fireball, launched at the beginning of combat, can work wonders.

The unarmed man’s name is Elric. He was caught trying to escape from Bann’s men. He reveals that he deserted the field when he realized Loghain’s betrayal.

King Cailan had entrusted Elric with a key to the royal arms chest and wanted him to deliver it to the Wardens, if something bad happened. Elric stashed the key back in camp out of fear losing it during the battle.

He tells you where you can find the key and marks it on your map. Now, with Elric dead, it is up to you to find the key amidst the Darkspawn filth and make sure some important documents are secured.

Return to Ostagar

Leave Elric’s corpse and travel back to Ostagar. Remember to activate any sustained abilities, skills as upon arrival you will immediately get attacked by four Darkspawn. When you have killed them search the area closely to loot anything you can find.

I will only highlight items of importance or great value. In most of the “Pile of sacks”, “Crates” etc. you’ll find the usual assortment of miscellany.

Turn left and enter the War Council.

You’ll get attacked by a larger group of Darkspawn accompanied by a Hurlock Strider. If you happen to have a Mage with you, casting Earthquake followed by Inferno can deal a great deal of damage here and hinder the Darkspawn greatly. Illiani prefers to hide behind the overturned table and lure the archers forward. The Hurlock Strider drops Cailan’s Greaves.

Continue to go west and enter the Joining Platform and take the Joining Chalice. It’s a gift item which you can give to one of your companions. Alistair, for instance, approves +6 when you give it to him. No surprise really.

Now go back and down the stairs and turn south. This main area is full of Darkspawn so prepare yourself and don’t rush.

After the first wave of enemies you’ll be attacked by a second company coming from the west. Nearby you’ll find Elric’s buried key. The Mage’s Chest is locked for now so travel south-west to get ambushed by two Rogue Darkspawn. Loot anything you can find in this area.

When you turn around and face Duncan’s fire you should be attacked once again. This time Darkspawn Wolves attack you, along with a Hurlock Vanguard bearing Cailan’s Shield.

Now head to the Royal Enclave and use Elric’s key on the royal chest. Inside you will find Maric’s Blade which is not bad, but when compared to “Starfang“, it can be found lacking. Additionally, you will find some secret documents.

Go south and kill all Darkspawn there. Be careful though, there is a Ballista shooting at the platform in the south.

Head west and kill all incoming Darkspawn. While the fireball trap can be disarmed, it is much easier to simply walk around it and kill the Darkspawn controlling that Ballista. There are some chests and crates but nothing spectacular.

Loot the place and then walk to the main bridge where everything began. Get yourself some tissues, lean back and enjoy the nice cut scene. It is short, but powerful.

Once the cut scene is over you will be facing a Darkspawn Necromancer and his two undead minions. Watch out for the Darkspawn trying to flank you from behind. Once you have won the day cross the bridge and prepare for the most challenging battle this DLC has to offer.

A cluster of Darkspawn will charge from the right, often retreating down towards the lowered section. Becareful when following these cowards, otherwise you may find yourself repeating the mistakes of Harold Godwinson–although you will be thankfully charging into a horde of Darkspawn and not Norman Knights.

On both, obvious, slops lie three traps. Rather than wasting time disarming these traps, lead your band to the north wall, there you will discover a small slope unprotected by Balista, or traps.

Charge down the slope and ignore the bulk of the hoard, continuing north into the Hurlock Strategist take him down to claim Cailan’s Gauntlets, before swooping forward to roll up the Darkspawn flanks.

When you are done looting the dead, prepare yourself for the Tower of Ishal. You will be fighting a lot of Darkspawn outside so save often. It is the Hurlock General you want this time around as he has King Cailan’s Breastplate. Protected by a large number of archers, the best strategy is to hide behind cover and let the archers come to you.

Once the General is slain, travel up the stairs to meet three Shrieks. Take them down and enter the Tower of Ishal.

We have no idea why BioWare nerfed all the Darkspawn here, but only the Ogre in this room is a challenge. Fight your way to the next room. One Hurlock will open a cage and release a Bereskarn. The rest of the Darkspawn are too easy to even mention, although you do find the Nug Crusher in one corner. Use the Darkspawn tunnel to venture forth.

The Darkspawn down here are not nerfed. That may indicate that the ones upstairs are bugged. Fight your way through the tunnel system until you get to a big room. Three Spiders await you here.

Once the spiders have been dealt with, keep going and fight another group of Darkspawn including an Emissary. You will soon arrive in a larger room where you more spiders attack. Then head for the tunnels.

Once outside another cut scene starts. Be prepared, the Ogre here is tough. When the battle begins, retreat backwards so the Ogre is forced to come to you. Now, hold this Ogre in place with a strong tank, whilst rushing the Necromancer with the rest of your team. While the Necromancer will summon additional undead once he has died, his minions will soon follow. This is the feature Illiani mentioned in his review, that he felt was a nice addition, but made the mêlée far too easy.

Once you’ve dealt with the Necromancer and obtained King Cailan’s last item you can loot the Ogre to get your hands on Duncan’s weapons as well. Return to the bridge to grant King Cailan a deserved burial and end this DLC.

Return to Ostagar Walkthrough Gallery

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374530 commentsWalkthrough2010-02-01+07%3A36%3A48CaK

Comment by nilson on February 1, 2010 at 2:22 pm

I think something important to mention is that duncans sword's level is dependant on what level you are when you find it. Did Rto at level 8 and got a level 5 red steel sword, then reloaded one of my lvl 24 PC's and got a lvl 7 dragonbone version that is among the best swords in game. Otherwise the guide covers everything, well written :D
Comment by Grog on February 1, 2010 at 3:59 pm

I still have not found a wy to open the Mages Chest. Even did RTO again with Wynne as I thought she may have it, she didn't have the key either.
Comment by Clifford Dutka on February 1, 2010 at 4:21 pm

The weaponry is definitely good, with the starfang and others out there I was expecting the armor to be better and the swords to be equivalent to top tear. I think the chest is there just in case you didn't complete it the first time around. Anyone able to confirm this?
Comment by Illiani on February 1, 2010 at 5:29 pm

The Mage's Chest Explained
The Mage's Chest can be opened in one of two ways:

1) If you gained a key during your first visit to Ostagar you can open the chest during the attack.

2) If you failed to get the key the first time round, it will be in the fallen prisoner cages to the left after fighting the four Darkspawn right at the DLC's beginning.

I hope that helps clear things up for people.
Comment by Grog on February 1, 2010 at 9:21 pm

I did get a key during the first time in Ostragar so the key is not in the cages. I still can not open the Mages Chest.
Comment by Cassie on February 1, 2010 at 10:29 pm

Just a note – the +approval from the Joining Chalice is variable, same as any other gift item. I rather thought they dropped the ball with it, honestly – I would have hoped giving it to Alistair would at least trigger a cut-scene rather than just a generic 'thanks'.

As for the Mage's Chest, I suspect it's a bug, and should only appear if you didn't get the key on your first visit to Ostagar.
Comment by twist on February 13, 2010 at 3:38 am

im having problems with that too and i got the key the first time around including the chest. so wat is the deal with the mages chest rto???
Comment by Illiani on March 12, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Which door are you referring to? All the doors I seem to recall were plot-blocked.
Comment by sefiroth on March 12, 2010 at 8:39 pm

Whhat about the batticaded door? I cannot seem to be able to open it or find a way too?
Comment by sefiroth on March 18, 2010 at 11:59 pm

Its the only barricaded door in the tower
Comment by Illiani on March 18, 2010 at 11:39 pm

If memory serves me well then you just go down the pit that is literally just before the door–just like it says in the above walk through: "Use the Darkspawn tunnel to venture forth."
Comment by jimmyq on March 23, 2010 at 5:41 am

for the mage's chest. I read that if you do not get the key during the first time around then its on a charred corpse and that you will get a red staff.
Comment by Wayne on April 2, 2010 at 8:05 pm

Note: Selling most items (such as the Warden's set at tier 5) and re-purchasing them at a higher price will give you upgraded gear according to your level. It only works on some merchants.
Comment by Dude on April 18, 2010 at 12:49 am

The really easy darkspawn that always go down in one hit? Not bugged. Those are 'grunts', which will make a reappearance during the endgame in order for your defenders to slaughter wave after wave of darkspawn without getting bogged down.
Comment by Forts on May 6, 2010 at 7:50 am

Im trying to gain access to the barricaded door in the same room as the entrance to darkspawn tunnel, leading to the final scene for this quest. I cant find a way in.

Anyone have any thoughts?
Comment by Marcell on September 19, 2010 at 1:11 pm

Hi I'm missing cailan's document 3. I read that it's supposed to be found with 1 and 2 (inside cailan's chest). I can't restart because I realised too late. Any suggestion or anybody experienced the same thing? I'm using ps3 btw. Thanks.
Comment by Loz on September 20, 2010 at 12:24 am

before i downloaded it, it said i could get the dog. how?
Comment by Elizabeth Stokes on September 27, 2010 at 4:50 pm

I am too and would really like to know how to get in and what is in there. Its driving me nuts.
Comment by Littleone23ca on November 12, 2010 at 2:06 am

Only thing I could see to add would be maps with the treasures marked.
Comment by Olivér Solténszky on December 25, 2010 at 5:31 am

hi i have a problem… i killed necromancer, looted the ogre, but i cannot bury the king… any ideas how to solve the problem?

there was one more little thing, i don't know, problem or not, when i crossed the bridge and encountered the necromancer, he was standing still, un-attackable. when i killed the ogre at the base of the fort, looted it, and headed back to the king's corpse. i found the lil' bastard at the place, where i met him before, but this time i could attack him… is that the normal place of our battle? i gaind the last piece of the armour from the necro-bastard, and when i got to the king later, nothing happened. that must be some freaky bug i think…. any ideas?
Comment by Arreouw on March 8, 2011 at 11:53 pm

They're not in order in the note section. Look at the titles of them all–it's far from the other 2, but you get all 3 at once, so you must have it.
Comment by Sharon Akins on April 3, 2011 at 8:49 am

I was wondering if there's a way to leave the area (completed) and return to pick up the rest of the stuff I left behind due to having a full pack. Don't see anything on it so I guess I will just have to try and see. I too am wondering about that barricaded door everyone is talking about.
Comment by Ogre on April 4, 2011 at 4:25 pm

After reading this walkthrough, a non-related question spotted me… the posted world map has some “added” spots (although, this added spots are added for me, ’til the point that I reached in the game – not done any main quest after Lothering)… I’d like to now if these spots are unlockable after in the game, or if they are added by add-in’s/mods…

The spots are:

- two places at left from Honnleath and south from Orzammar;

- some places between the Warden’s Keep and Brecilian Forest/Southron Hills;

- some places at right from the main/first place at Brecilian Forest/Southron Hills;

- some “cave entrances” around some places.

Cheers!
Comment by Clutch 45 on May 31, 2011 at 8:56 am

I have the self same issue! I need to know what to do! Can anyone help with this??
Comment by _bunny_ on June 21, 2011 at 11:16 pm

I must have the same bug! Anyone know what's going on? Necromancer's dead. I have all the items, but when I get to the king, nothing!
Comment by Ivan on August 27, 2011 at 7:28 pm

Hello, i have a problem – I cant enter tunnels. I am nearby the blocked door and the passage and it isnt even interactive :S
Comment by Ivan on August 27, 2011 at 7:32 pm

yes, the doors are plot blocked but still in some cases obviously one cant enter the passage down too :S Any idea why?
Comment by Cassie on September 24, 2011 at 12:49 am

I am just wondering if its at all possible to get the mage's chest opened? Why is it there if you can't open it? And the barricaded door in the tower of Ishal? Why isn't there a way to get it opened?
Comment by GreyWardenGirl on September 24, 2011 at 4:50 am

I believe the ones you're talking about are Haven and the Ruined Temple that are south of Orzammar – they're granted during the quest: the Urn of Sacred Ashes. The ones south of Warden's Keep are small quest areas attainable through the chanter's board (I got them in Redcliffe but I believe they appear on Denerim's chanter's board as well.)
Comment by SJE on February 15, 2012 at 4:12 am

I forgot to finish the Mabari Hound quest the first time round (got the flower, forgot to stop off at the Hound Master on returning before the battle) and now I see the Dog in the kennels, but I cant seem to get it to join me- any clue how?

Thx.